Rutgers men’s basketball coach Mike Rice hit his first home run on the recruiting trail Tuesday, reeling in coveted Class of 2011 power forward Kadeem Jack.

The 6-foot-8, 210-pound Jack, who starred at New York City powerhouse Rice High School, was being pursued by brand names North Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgetown and Arizona before deciding to do a prep year at South Kent (Conn.).

Known for his athleticism and his ability to attack the rim, Jack had been ranked as the No. 8 power forward and No. 43 player overall in the Class of 2010 by Scout.com.

Jack, who is touring the Middle East as part of an all-star basketball team, left a taped interview unveiling his college choice that aired on MSG Varsity Tuesday night. His commitment is not iron-clad until the fall signing period in early November.

There is a void at shooting guard once again for the Rutgers men’s basketball program.

Tyree Graham, the junior college transfer who was brought in to hold down the position in the wake of Mike Rosario’s sudden departure last spring, has suffered a serious knee injury that may sideline him for the 2010-11 season.

Kyle Flood's philosophy of building a successful blocking unit is simple: "You're trying to find the best five guys to compete at the highest level,'' Rutgers' offensive line coach says. (MyCentralJersey.com file photo)

Rutgers coach Greg Schiano offered an “”it is what it is” when asked if he’s concerned about an offensive line that has yet to perform together under the lights will do just that when the Scarlet Knights play host to Norfolk State on Thursday night.

“”That’s why we are playing. Next week, we can say they did (perform together),” Schiano said. “”The one thing is we have kept those five in place. I do think those five are the best five. How will that compare to the defensive lines that we have to play, I don’t know that. I do think those are the best five today.”

A year returning a five-man unit with 81 career starts under their belts, the offensive line Rutgers opens the season with has nearly half that many (42) starts.

Schiano did his best to offer confidence in his untested unit, but do you share that same optimism that LT Desmond Stapleton, LG Desmond Wynn, C Howard Barbieri, RG Caleb Ruch and RT Art Forst will be up to the task of keeping QB Tom Savage off his back while also paving the way for tailbacks such as Joe Martinek and Jordan Thomas to run the ball?

PISCATAWAY — The offensive line that started preseason camp together for the Rutgers football team will line up when the Scarlet Knights play host to Norfolk State in their season opener Thursday night.

That doesn’t mean they’ll be the same five to finish the season, or even be the same pentad when Rutgers travels to play FIU next weekend.

Left tackle Desmond Stapleton, left guard Desmond Wynn, center Howard Barbieri, right guard Caleb Ruch and right tackle Art Forst have played in their share of games for the Scarlet Knights in recent seasons. But the one thing they haven’t done is line up on the offensive line at the same time together.

They will do so Thursday night.

“”Do I feel ready? Yeah,” Forst said. “”Have we answered any questions? No. You don’t answer anything until the end of the season. You look back and you evaluate it then.”

Forst is only a junior, but the Manasquan native is a senior stateman on the line with 21 starts the past two seasons. He insists Rutgers fans — and more importantly, quarterback Tom Savage — should have confidence that this untested unit is ready for anything that will be thrown at them this fall, starting with a Norfolk State defense that returns seven starters from a group ranking sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision last season.

PISCATAWAY — A year after his defense ranked in the top half of the Big East in all 10 statistical categories, Rutgers coach Greg Schiano says there’s no guarantee his talent-laden unit will post the same results this season.

“”There never is. There’s not even a guarantee it carries over to the next week,” Schiano said. “”What you hope is that the habits you build through practice and in game-repetition lead you to be better and better at it. That’s what our hope is.”

When his team opens the 2010 season at home Thursday night against Norfolk State, Schiano will be hoping a defense that returns six starters will dominate the way it did for much of last season.

Rutgers released its depth chart this afternoon, and there are a few notable changes from the one unveiled earlier this summer:

— Four true freshmen — RB Jordan Thomas, OG Betim Bujari, WR Jeremy Deering and QB Chas Dodd — are listed on the two-deep, all on second-team. Dodd is the most interesting of the bunch, considering it’s still not known whether Rutgers coach Greg Schiano will decide to play Dodd or opt to preserve his redshirt.

— Not surprisingly, Brandon Bing won the most intriguing position battle of the summer, beating out Logan Ryan for the right to start at a cornerback. Schiano said last week that while Bing will start, Ryan and fellow backups Marcus Cooper and Brandon Jones will all play.

— Less than a week after moving to wideout from running back, Mason Robinson is listed on the second-team behind Mark Harrison.

— And here’s my favorite part of the depth chart: Edmond Laryea is listed as both the starting fullback and the backup strongside linebacker behind Manny Abreu. When I asked Schiano during his press conference if Laryea couple play both, he said yes and then pointed to Joe Giacobbe, a Scarlet Knights’ two-way linemen early in his tenure, as an example of an old-school player willing to play on both sides of the ball.

Following his charity golf tournament in June, Greg Schiano asked the reporters in attendance where we were projecting Rutgers to finish in the Big East this season.

One by one, the beat guys said either 3rd or 4th place but when my turn came around I pointed one finger to the sky. My first-place prediction prompted not only a fist-bump from the Rutgers football coach, but homer-jeers among my fellow scribes.

A few weeks later when it came time to put my prediction to the test, I chickened out by pegging Rutgers to finish second behind Pittsburgh in the Big East media poll.

Though it was considerably higher than anyone else picked Rutgers, it certainly wasn’t the bold, first-place prediction I had made a few weeks before.

“”What, did they get worse since the golf outing,” one reporter on the beat mockingly asked after I revealed my picks in this space.

Well, I promise not to make the same mistake twice.

Though questions persist surrounding the Scarlet Knights heading into the 2010 season, I don’t see why they can’t contend for the Big East crown this season.

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